Several mattresses are disclosed in the prior art which are comprised of removable or interchangeable mattress segments. For example, published P.C.T. application No. WO81/02384 reveals a mattress intended primarily for orthopaedic use having a number of interchangeable foam blocks of different hardnesses. The blocks are held in abutting relation by a flexible, closely fitting removable cover. However, the above-described invention suffers from the disadvantage that the cover must be removed in order to easily interchange or replace the foam block components. Furthermore, since the cover is a continuously planar sheet, it is not possible for a user to insert body appendages, such as hands or toes, between the adjacent block components after the cover has been fitted.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,457,203 granted to Wick on May 29, 1923 discloses a mattress having a base or bottom sheet constructed of a longitudinal series of parallel pockets or compartments of substantially rectangular form. The compartments may be stuffed with feathers or other filler to define a series of transversely rectangular mattress segments. The segments are apparently left separable to allow body appendages to be inserted into the slots between adjacent segments. The primary drawback of the Wick invention is that the mattress segments are not freely removable or interchangeable. Further, the pockets or compartments are permanently fastened to the base or bottom sheet; since the mattress stuffing and cover sheet are not readily separable, the mattress cover is not readily laundered.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,228,213 granted to Hunt on May 29, 1917, U.S. Pat. No. 1,423,954 granted to Maussner on July 25, 1972 and U.S. Pat. No. 2,545,311 granted to Rosberger on Mar. 13, 1951 also disclose segmented mattress constructions, but none of the above references disclose a specially adapted mattress cover having a plurality of spaced apart pleats adapted for insertion within the transverse spaces defined by adjacent mattress segments.